Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-03-10

noilu;lN.
threw myself on the bed and tried
to get into doze, and was succeeding
when the alcalde rushed into my room
with bevy of his retainers and pulled
me into sitting posture.
The senor's commands have been
obeyed, " said the alcalde, excitedly.
"The dog of IA bandit has been arrest
ed. and will be tried before me ut
once. But we need the seniors testi-
mony. Without the senior we can do
nothing"
lttook ne almost no time 20 dress
and tccompany the little brown alcaldc
and his hrowner algraziIs to the pre-
tentious stone edilice on the plaza call
ed the palace of justice.
had never seen criminal trial in
a Mexican court, aud everything was
new to me. The alcalde presided with
great dignity. He was assisted by u
prosecuting officer. and several advo-
Gates, as they call their lawyers, were
also on hand. The courtroom was
filed with IA crowd of eager spectators.
all talking, swearing and shaking THEN
fists at the prisoner. The rObber. Fran
cisco, was the most uneoncerned look
ing man in the crowd. Surrounded by
alguazils, he was not handcufied, and
when he saw me he smiled and made
me a polite bow.
The proceedings dragged all through
the weary day. My limited knowledge
of the language made it impossible for
me to follow everything that was said,
but understood that an effort was be-
ing made to prove an alibi. Three
men, with rather honest faces, swore
that at 6 o'clock on the previous eve
ming they had imbibed pulque with
Francisco at a little village twenty
miles west of San Pablo. If they told
the truth, of course my robber could
not have been Francisco.
1t irritated me TO see so much inn
portance attached to the alibi and to
my case, because had been led to be-
lievc that the prisoner would be held
anyhow, as he was wanted for other
crimes, and big reward had been of
fered for him, was told, however,
that in Yucatan prisoner, when he
demands trial, must be tried or re-
leased inside of twelve hours. In order
to hold him, therefore, the San Pablo
authorities had to make the most of
my evidence.
The alibi business worried the old
alcalde not little. The three wit
nesses who swore to meeting Francis
co on the afternoon before were reput-
able men. On the other hand, | was a
stranger and an American. Several
times during the day ] was recalled to
the stand and examined and cross eX-
amined. The utmost courtesy charac-
terized the examination, but it had a
latitude that would not have been per-
mitted in an American court. Fire.
quently spectator would interrupt
with a question or make suggestion
to the alcaldc. Once Francisco re-
marked that he was tired and would
take it as favor if the court would
hurry up.
Toward the close of the day | saw n
man on the outskirts of the spectators
whose face and manner attracted my
attention. He was the very image Of
Francisco, the prisoner.
/ changed my position SO as to get n
better view. The resemblance was
wonderfully striking. The man was
just Franchises age, height, size, and
complexion His sombrero shaded his
right temple and prevented me from
seeing whether it bore the peculiar
scar which disfigllred the robber. His
costume was the same as Francisco's,
but, as nearly everybody wore home
spun of the same color and pattern,
this did moi excite my surprise.
If he has the scar, | muttered,
che could pass anywhere for Francisco.
1t would be impossible to tell them
apart
Naturally began to understand the
alibi. The men who swore they saw
the highwayman twenty miles away
from the scene Of his crime at the very
moment he was tying my hands might
HONESTLY be mistaken. They had seen
this mysterious stranger. But they
had sworn to the scar. Could it be
possible that the strangers face bore
such mark?
determined to edge my way to him
in the crowd and accidentally knock Off
his sombrero in order to look for the
fiery crescent.
When | reached that side of the
building the man was gone. ] made
every effort to find him, but finally
gave it up. He had either left the
room or had shifted his position, keep
ing other persons between us 50 as to
screen him from my view.
As it was growing dark four tallow
candles were lighted, but the gloomy
stone walls made the room look almost
as dark rs ever.
was wondering what would be the
outcome of the case, when the lights
were suddenly blown out.
Keep in your places!' shouted an
alguazil. Order in the palace Of jus
ticer
The candles were relighted. and then
was behold such a scene as has rarely
ever been behcld in Il courtroom or
anywhere else.
/ In front of the alealdc's bench stood
two scar-faccd men as much alike as
two brown peas.
.Merciful saints calculated an
alguazil. ..Do ! see double, or are
there two FranciscosP'
at is the work of the devil" sug-
gested pious old man. as he crossed
himself.
NY friend. the old alcaldc, put 81
his spcctaclcs and looked sharply vt
/ the two men.
..Franciscor' he called.
Each of the two men gave a jerk Of
his head and answered to the name.
/ ''Let the American senior take the
stand, ordered the alcalde.
In response to the questions put to
! me | admitted that | could not point